


A Birthday Surprise

by hecateandhoney (LiveLoveLikeMe)



Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017), The Worst Witch - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-24
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2019-04-27 02:16:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14415486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiveLoveLikeMe/pseuds/hecateandhoney
Summary: Absolutely no one would dare try and celebrate the birthday of one Hecate Hardbroom.  Based on a prompt from rizzleselphie on Tumblr.





	A Birthday Surprise

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! This is something I wrote a bit ago on Tumblr, so you may have already seen it there, but I've been asked to post it here as well. 
> 
> Original Prompt: Hey there! I can't express how much I love HB and I need her to smile more, soo, how about Mildred finding out when HB's birthday is and suprising her with something in her room in the evening when she is not expecting it? :)

Hecate was in a foul mood, to say the least.  First it had been the first years blowing up yet another disaster in the potions lab—her table was still stained a startling shade of pink that even Pippa Pentangle would gawk at.  After lunch, things only seemed to get worse.  She had a headache, found a _grey hair_ that she had not given permission to grow there, and nearly transported into a third year skipping class.  All on top of the horrible fact that it was her birthday—just another reminder that she’d made it another year through life still alone.

If she was being honest, most of her birthdays seemed to go the same way.  She went out of her way to avoid any mention of the day and generally, people seemed to forget she even had one.  It was better that way.  No one really wanted to celebrate with her anyways.

All Hecate wanted was to put the entire day behind her with a hot cup of tea and some papers to grade, but she groaned as she readied herself to the staff lounge instead.  Ada had informed her at lunch of a last minute staff meeting for the evening, and she could only hope it ended shortly.

At first, upon transferring tiredly into the room, Hecate thought she must have the time wrong.  True, she was her standard ten minutes early, but it still shouldn’t have been so empty.  Someone was always inevitably loitering around, which was why she avoided the room in the first place.  Hecate was about to move herself to Ada’s office, grumbling about wasting her time with cancelled meetings, when a small movement caught her eye.

“Mildred Hubble!” she drawled, eyes widening at the sight of the student sitting alone in the center of a big chair at the table.  “Students are not permitted in the staff room.”  She closed in on the girl, feeling a sneer overtake her, but for her part Mildred merely sat there smiling up at her. 

“Does breaking the rules amuse you?  Because I can assure you, the lines you’ll be writing for me will _not_.” She punctuated the “t” sharply.

“Good evening, Miss Hardbroom,” Mildred calmly said with that same smile.  It was testing her, she just didn’t yet know how.

“Explain yourself at once!” 

Mildred sighed, then reached under the table and pulled something out.  It was a little uneven and round, with a simple white icing and a candle centered on top.  Somehow, Mildred even managed to utter the right spell to light it. 

“I don’t understand,” Hecate blinked, feeling her anger make way for confusion.

“Happy Birthday, Miss Hardbroom!” Mildred chirped excitedly, sliding the item she quickly realized was a cupcake closer to her and nearly getting frosting on her dress in the process.  “I wanted to throw you a surprise party, but Miss Cackle thought this might be better.  You don’t seem to like surprises much.”

Hecate bit back the retort that this, while much better than being startled, was still more than surprising.  “Who told you it’s my birthday?” she asked, eyes narrowed. 

Mildred laughed and shrugged.  “Everyone knows, they just think you don’t want any fuss made about it.  But I thought it wasn’t fair that you don’t at least get cake on your birthday, so I begged Miss Cackle and she helped me get you here.  You’re not… mad are you?” Mildred looked up at her nervously.

Hecate’s hands shook, and for a moment she didn’t know what she felt. 

Mildred hopped off the chair, frowning.  “Right, sorry if I ruined your birthday.  More than earlier, I mean.  I’ll just go…”

Hecate still faced the cupcake on the table, barely registering as Mildred began to flee.  Someone had remembered her birthday.  They’d remembered and even wanted to do something for it.  A student, who had no business interfering with her private matters, had gone out of her way to do something nice for her birthday with no regards for the potential consequences she might face for it.  Slowly, the corners of Hecate’s mouth began to curve up into a rare smile.

“Mildred Hubble!” she called tightly, not turning to face the girl who was somewhere near the door behind her.  “Get back here and sit.”

She waited with tapping fingers until Mildred, looking nervous, obeyed and returned to her earlier seat. 

Softening just slightly, Hecate waved her hand, severing the cupcake in half.  She reached out and handed half over to the girl before taking a seat and eyeing the other half wearily.  “This is far too much sugar for this late at night, you might as well stay and help me eat it before you run off.”

Mildred smiled, grabbing the cake eagerly and sighing with relief.

Hecate sniffed hers and took a small bite, trying not to grimace at the overly sweet taste.  She would eat it anyways, because for just a few minutes, she no longer had to spend her birthday feeling lonely.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
